choral
Taking Advantage of Opportunities in Order to Meet Challenges Lynn Seidl, WMEA State Chair, Choral
The description for each issue of WSM goes to the writers with a one-para- graph summary that provides a synopsis of the theme. For me this provides a good starting point to be- gin writing. This
time the paragraph ends with “turning unique challenges into special opportuni- ties.” As I started to write it occurred to me that every day in the music classroom provides a unique challenge that a music teacher changes into a special opportunity. It seems that in my long teaching career the challenges have become more unique and more challenging in recent years. I don’t know if this is a testament to my age or to the current state of education! Regardless, teaching music can be a blessing and a challenge and it certainly provides special opportunities to our stu- dents and us.
In thinking back over the past 34 years of teaching there were some opportunities that came my way and helped me to ac- cept the challenges that teaching provided. Perhaps they are opportunities that you could take too.
Volunteer – Spend more of your precious free time doing something other than your day-to-day job. People you see again and again serving on committees and taking
“...every day in the music classroom provides a unique challenge that a music teacher changes into a special opportunity. ”
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on extra tasks that don’t pay money are onto something. They have discovered the reward of volunteering.
The Institute for Volunteering Research, in a 2007 study, found that the top five reasons for volunteering, according to people who volunteered were:
• A sense of satisfaction from seeing results
• A sense of enjoyment • Personal achievement • Meeting people and making friends
• Getting a chance to do something in which you excel
These five reasons give a compelling case for volunteerism and this being said, if you think volunteering is something you would like to try and have not picked an outlet, why not try WMEA? There are many committees to serve on and many tasks of varying sizes and time commitment.
Put a support group together – This idea is one that I recently heard about in my area, with middle school band directors using the group to meet for an exchange about music, concert programs and ideas for middle school music programs. You could also share equipment, instruments and costumes, if you are in charge of the musical or other drama offerings. Your group can do whatever the group enjoys doing, which could include beverages, meals and recreational activities.
In WMEA’s most recent Soundwaves newsletter, Jim Scheuer wrote a feature article titled, “Teachers Helping Teachers Become Better Teachers” (see the online digital version of WSM for a link to this article). Jim wrote about teachers mentor- ing other teachers and he had some sound advice for all of us.
Become an activist, for your program, school and profession. Get involved.
These days it is all about advocacy. Be- ing an activist will give you the feeling that you are doing something to help your situation, rather than standing by and watching events unfold. Feeling that you are more in control of your situation and having an impact can be empowering and satisfying. It will also enable you to be more educated, which should be important to all educators.
Attend conferences and take advantage of continuing education seminars, espe- cially those offered by WMEA. You will get to spend time with teachers just like you and you will learn something while doing so. Learning fresh ideas and new techniques is what the education career is all about. The Wisconsin Center for Music Education offerings are inexpensive and varied. Don’t delete the emails you receive promoting these opportunities – take a closer look at them. You can always visit
www.wsmamusic.org/center.
Take advantage of offerings for your students – There are many opportuni- ties for students. Honors choirs, all state choirs, solo and ensemble festivals and local talent shows are just a few. Getting your singers involved in extra activities can be a bit of extra work for you, but pays off in the long run, with heightened student interest and benefits for the entire choir.
Stay positive – This sounds trite, but those adages about silver linings, muscles used to frown versus smile and “saying nothing if you have nothing good to say” are on to something. The research about personal health related to mental attitude is widely accepted. In closing, there is a Swedish proverb, which sums this up nicely: “Those who wish to sing always find a song.”
Lynn Seidl teaches music at Luxemburg Casco Middle School.
Email:
lseidl@luxasco.k12.wi.us April 2012
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